Sizmek, an open ad management platform that has built out support for programmatic advertising over the past year, has taken another big step into the programmatic ring. The company on Thursday announced the acquisition of StrikeAd, a mobile demand-side platform (DSP), for $11.7 million.
Sizmek will pay $9.5 million in cash “and the assumption of a $2.2 million note,” the company writes in its first-quarter 2015 earnings report, which is where the acquisition was announced.
Per the earnings report, Sizmek will keep StrikeAd’s platform separate from Sizmek MDX -- the company's existing platform -- but it does intend to use StrikeAd’s platform as part of its ultimate goal to “build an end-to-end demand-side platform,” which will let marketers build ads, manage data, target consumers, buy media and manage and analyze campaigns.
"The acquisition enables Sizmek to continue to develop and offer programmatic solutions for creative without the need for partnership integrations," a company representative asserted.
Following the acquisition, StrikeAd will continue to support its clients as it does today, stated Alex Rahaman, CEO of StrikeAd. In addition, its existing clients will gain access to Sizmek’s ad management platform.
The addition of StrikeAd is expected to bolster Sizmek's 2015 revenue by $10 million, per the earnings report. Sizmek is expecting 2015 revenue to be between $188 million and $193 million, assuming the StrikeAd transaction closes as anticipated. The deal is expected to be finalized by the end of May.
The StrikeAd deal is not Sizmek’s first mobile-focused ad tech acquisition. Last year, Sizmek acquired Aerify to add mobile tracking and retargeting to its platform.